It’s great to see so much support for the value of ‘taking the breeze’ – the authorities must respect public space too
T
he mayor of a small town in southern Spain felt compelled, a few days ago, to clarify that there is no new municipal ban on older women sitting out on the pavement in their own chairs. He was responding to a furious online backlash directed mostly at the town’s police after they posted a message on social media urging the residents of Santa Fe to show “civility” by not sitting in the streets in the late hours disturbing neighbours.
This plea for respect for the public space was hardly a draconian law and order crackdown: it was a reasonably worded reminder. “We know that putting chairs or tables outside the door is a tradition in many towns,” it said, “but public spaces are regulated. If the police ask you to remove them, do so out of respect and in the interests of coexistence.”
Unfortunately for the police, it was accompanied by a photograph not of 3am revellers or anyone engaging in antisocial behaviour, but six older women sitting outdoors on plastic garden chairs, enjoying what looks like a peaceful chat. The angry reaction (“Go and arrest drug dealers!”, or “All these women want is a quiet moment with their neighbours. Why don’t you take care of real crimes!”) was a reminder that in Spain, the authorities mess with community rituals involving older people at their peril.
